Motorists told get used to paying over €1 a litre for petrol
The AA said petrol prices were likely to remain around the €1 mark “for the foreseeable future” and repeated its call for the Government to reverse the 5c increase in duty levied in the last budget to ease the pressure on motorists.
The benchmark Brent crude oil price hit a new record of $40.99 per barrel yesterday, beating the previous high set in 1990 after gaining almost $1 per barrel since Tuesday.
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) saw prices climb to new highs of $44.34 before staging a slight retreat in late trading.
Analysts blamed worries over supply and continuing concerns over security in the Middle East and in America.
But some also warned that demand would continue to surge and suggested increasing demand from emerging economies, such as China, were also having an effect.
The AA said motorists should try to limit the damage to their pockets caused by the deteriorating oil situation by shopping around where possible. Consumers’ Association of Ireland chief executive Dermott Jewell said there was little scope for consumers to cope with further price rises.
The AA’s latest monthly survey of petrol prices found forecourts were charging an average of 98.3c last month.
This was 8.5% higher than the average price in January and 16% higher than July 2003.
Oil prices have risen by more than 30% this year on worries that greater global demand has left supplies tightly stretched.
Some analysts fear that prices could go above $50 per barrel, a move that would have damaging repercussions for the global economy.
Allowing for inflation, prices are near the level hit during the 1973 oil embargo and just over half those during the oil price shock that followed the 1979 revolution in Iran.
German finance minister Hans Eichel warned that sustained rises in oil prices would be a concern and that they had the potential to slow economic growth.
